Category Archives: Book Reviews

I thoroughly enjoyed reading @HelenaFairfax, Penny’s Antique Shop of Memories and Treasures. This feel good romance really had me hooked from the start.

********************************One rainy day in London, Wyoming man Kurt Bold walks into an antique shop off the King’s Road and straight into the dreams of its owner, Penny Rosas.

Kurt certainly looks every inch the cowboy hero…but he soon brings Penny’s dreams to earth with a thump. His job is in the logical world of finance – and as far as Kurt is concerned, romance is just for dreamers.But when Kurt hires Penny to help refurbish his Victorian house near Richmond Park, it’s not long before the logical heart he has guarded so carefully is opening up to new emotions, in a most disturbing way…

The cover drew me in straight away, it’s clear and crisp. The characters are wonderful, who have their own little quirks.

This book was a heartwarming light read which made me smile, it is true escapism. Readers of any age will really enjoy and be truly fascinated by the lovely antiques mentioned too.

The story is lovely, and an ideal read to have, when you’re tucked up with hot chocolate after a hard day Christmas shopping.

If you need to purchase a gift for someone who adores a truly romantic read, then this really is for you. There is absolutely nothing to dislike in this book, I can most certainly recommend it.

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As a #BookBlogger, I’m always happy to receive a #newrelease and @HQDigitalUK once again came up trump’s with @jenmouat_author #romcom Summer at Bluebell Bank.

The book had me captivated from the start, i loved the bookshop it made me want to hunt it down. The characters were well written and the storyline and area it was written in had me wanting more. Family relationships, love and friendship this is a really great read.

I rate this book 5/5

Description

Returning home is never smooth sailing . . .

Summoned by her childhood best friend, Kate Vincent doesn’t stop to think, instead she books a one-way ticket from New York back to Wigtown, Scotland and leaves her glittering new life behind. Scenes of idyllic holidays at Bluebell Bank with the Cotton family dance in her mind, but not everything has stayed the way it once was . . . Especially when her first love, Luke, returns to town, too.

Emily Cotton never expected one email, sent off in a wine-fuelled daze, to bring her old friend barrelling through the front door of her dismally failing bookshop. But life for the Cottons isn’t how it once was, Emily’s brothers are hardly speaking, her beloved grandmother isn’t quite the same and Emily . . . well, Emily is the one most in need of Kate’s help.

Kate has given herself until the end of the summer to stay in Wigtown. Can she bring the Cottons back together, and save the family who once saved her?

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#hideaway Hello Everyone, I am so sorry that I have not been around in the #BookReviewing world for a while but I am returning very slowly.

My trusty Kindle died on me and I lost all of my delicious upcoming new books to read too, amongst other things.

Anyway, I had a wonderful surprise pop through my letter box over the weekend. A fabulous package from @hideawayfall, in it was non other than @MJonathanLee new book #BrokenBranches. Looks and sounds amazing so thank you #hideaway.

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#BookReviewer #BritCrime .. Thank You @LittleBrownUK @markhillwriter @NetGalley for yet another great book to get my mind blowing! This certainly did that from the very beginning. I had no idea who I should trust, I like books like that, books that keep me guessing right until the very end. This did just that with all its twists and turns and cold and calculating characters. Boy it was a good one.

I rate this book 5/5

Description

TWO CHILDHOOD FRIENDS… ONE BECAME A DETECTIVE… ONE BECAME A KILLER…One night changed their livesThirty years ago, the Longacre Children’s Home stood on a London street where once-grand Victorian homes lay derelict. There its children lived in terror of Gordon Tallis, the home’s manager.

Cries in the fire and smokeThen Connor Laird arrived: a frighteningly intense boy who quickly became Tallis’ favourite criminal helper. Soon after, destruction befell the Longacre, and the facts of that night have lain buried . . . until today.

A truth both must hideNow, a mysterious figure, the Two O’Clock Boy, is killing all who grew up there, one by one. DI Ray Drake will do whatever it take to stop the murders – but he will go even further to cover up the truth.

Discover the gripping, twist-filled start to a fantastic new London-set crime thriller series starring morally corrupt DI Ray Drake – the perfect new addiction for fans of Luther.

# BookReviewer ..Special Thanks to @SimonBooks & @NetGalley for this truly remarkable insight into this lady’s recovery process after a brain injury. This really was such an interesting book which Lauren explains all different aspects of what actually happened to her and how she had to have a speech therapist to help her find her voice again. This is one fascinating medical journal

I rate it 5/5

Description

In the bestselling tradition of Brain on Fire and A Stroke of Insight, an incredible first-person account of one woman’s journey to regaining her language and identity after a brain aneurysm affects her ability to communicate.

Lauren Marks was twenty-seven, singing karaoke with a friend, when an aneurysm ruptured in her brain. She woke up in a hospital with serious deficiencies to her reading, speaking, and writing abilities, and a diagnosis: aphasia. Shocking news to anyone, but for Lauren it was devastating. As an actress, writer, and voracious reader, her entire identity was crafted upon a language that her brain now couldn’t access. Forced to give up her independence, Lauren returned to her parents’ home to struggle with a stifled inner monologue, fractured sense of self, and a broken memory.

At the urging of her speech therapist and encouragement of her parents, Lauren began to chronicle her recovery. A Stitch of Time is the remarkable result, the story of a brain slowly piecing together a forgotten language—an Oliver Sacks-like case study, but written by the patient herself. With clinical research about aphasia and linguistics interwoven with deeply personal journal entries marking her progress, Lauren affords a rare glimpse into a mind in construction. Over time, frustration leads to fascination as Lauren re-learns and re-experiences many of the things we take for granted—reading a book, understanding idioms, even sharing a first kiss.

A story about language and identity, A Stitch in Time presents an unforgettable journey of self-discovery, resilience, and hope. As Lauren navigates the ups and downs of her year post-rupture and tries to reconcile “The Girl I Used to Be” with “The Girl I Am Now,” she finds herself as she finds her words.

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#BookReviewer ..I adored the cover of #TheMayQueen by @helenireneyoung which @crookedcatbooks kindly sent over to me via @NetGalley.

The story reminded me very much of a wartime TV drama. Sitting by the coal fire as a child watching one with my parents. It was a heartwarming family saga. There was love and heartache and tears and joy. I actually enjoyed this very pleasant read.

I rate this book 5/5

DESCRIPTION

A tale of one girl’s search for love and belonging, The May Queen is a debut novel that goes to the heart of what family means and finding your place in it.

‘She lapped in spirals beneath the sheen, feeling the tug of water rush against all of her. When she next surfaced, she couldn’t remember what it was to be on land. Seeing her clothing on the bank as things belonging to another…’

It all began beside the mill pond. Honest, fair and eager to please, fifteen-year-old May has a secret, and not of her own making. She wears it like an invisible badge, sewn to her skin, as though Ma stitched it there herself. It rubs only when she thinks of Sophie, Pa or the other name that’s hidden there; that no one knows about.

Caught in an inevitable net of change, May joins the Wrens, leaving her Cotswolds home for war-torn London and the Blitz. As a dispatch rider, she navigates the city by day and night, surviving love and loss throughout a blackout of remembered streets and wrong turns.

Night after night, the bombs drop and, like those around her, she takes cover in the shadows when they do. But May is waiting for a greater shadow to lift, one which will see the past explode into the present.

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#BookReview I absolutely adored this book by @GerHogan. I received it from @Aria_Fiction as I’m a #AriaAddict. The cover caught my eye straight away, I adored the freshness of it.The story had me hooked from the very beginning, it had likeable characters and was such an easy read full of secrets and intrigue.”Secrets We Keep” is really well written and I really love the way Faith is such an accurate writer, with a keen eye for detail. This is a great book to curl up by the fireside with.

I rate this book 5/5

Publication Date is 1st February 2017

Description

Two distant relatives, drawn together in companionship are forced to confront their pasts and learn that some people are good at keeping secrets and some secrets are never meant to be kept. A bittersweet story of love, loss and life. Perfect for the fans of Freya North and Amanda Prowse.The beautiful old Bath House in Ballytokeep has lain empty and abandoned for decades. For devoted pensioners Archie and Iris, it holds too many conflicting memories of their adolescent dalliances and tragic consequences – sometimes it’s better to leave the past where it belongs.For highflying, top London divorce lawyer Kate Hunt, it’s a fresh start – maybe even her future. On a winter visit to see her estranged Aunt Iris she falls in love with the Bath House. Inspired, she moves to Ballytokeep leaving her past heartache 600 miles away – but can you ever escape your past or your destiny?